Cayman Enterprise City welcomes 250th company

Cayman Enterprise City announced Friday that it had welcomed its 250th company into Cayman’s special economic zones, which include Cayman Tech City, Cayman Commodities & Derivatives City, and Cayman Maritime & Aviation City.

“This is a significant milestone for CEC since opening our doors for business in February 2012. For the past six years we have worked tirelessly to promote CEC and the Cayman Islands as an ideal base to conduct international business, as well as support businesses who have established SEZ companies so that they can focus on growth and innovation,” CEO Charlie Kirkconnell said in a press release.

He added: “CEC’s success is good news for Cayman. The large number of knowledge-based entrepreneurs who have established a genuine physical presence are bringing much sought-after diversity to Cayman’s economy.”

CEC’s aim is to attract knowledge- and technology-based businesses to set up a physical presence in the Cayman Islands.

According to CEC, as of the end of 2017, it had contributed an estimated US$155 million to Cayman’s economy ($113 million in direct spending and $42 million indirectly). Last year, CEC contributed an estimated US$41 million.

In recent months, FinTech and blockchain development companies have been setting up in Cayman Tech City on a weekly basis, CEC stated.

“Within five years, CEC conservatively estimates that there will be over 500 businesses in Cayman’s special economic zones, with roughly 60 percent of those operating from within Cayman Tech City,” the press release stated.

Mr. Kirkconnell said that, from the outset, one of the primary objectives of the CEC development project has been to help create new job opportunities for Caymanians.

“CEC’s growth means an increasing number of new creative job opportunities that many young Caymanians have had to previously leave Cayman to pursue,” he said.

In April 2018, a $39 million plan for the first phase of a new 53-acre campus was approved by the Central Planning Authority. The George Town location is a five-minute drive from the newly expanded Owen Roberts International Airport.

“Our goal is to ensure not only that CEC continues to grow, but that the local community directly benefits from CEC’s positive development. We look forward to breaking ground on our new purpose-built campus later this year and we see this development project as key to furthering Cayman’s thriving SEZs and ultimately helping to grow and further diversify Cayman’s economy,” Mr. Kirkconnell said.